*CHAPTER 6*

Basil, lilac, rosalyn and i laughed and jumped around the astronomy room. it had no roof, yet stayed warm even though the temperature was dropping outside, and the floor was padded so that we could lay down and watch the stars. hot chocolate magically appeared around the room, always just the right temperature and with big, fluffy marshmallows.

we had been playing tag around the room and Basil was 'it' when we finally realized how late it was. the barely visible sliver of the moon was almost at its peak in the night sky, casting faint shadows on the meadow below.

finally, we tackled each other to the floor in a heap of raucous laughter, calmed down, and settled into a companionable silence. we lied down on the squishy floor, and watched the stars in their steadfast trek across the sky. occasionally on of us giggled, remembering something we did that afternoon. Evelyn was the farthest thing from my mind.

"You guys are THE BEST!!" lilac blurted suddenly, making everyone jump, then begin laughing hysterically again. when we had calmed again lilac continued. "No, seriously, you guys really are the best. you thought of everything, this tree house is perfect! you even made a jello room!"

"yeah," giggled rosalyn, "that was my Idea."

I got up and grabbed four hot chocolates. there was a chorus of thank-you's from the group as the cocoa was passed around.

"what do you think Evil-yn is doing right now? asked basil.

"I can tell you what she didn't do." I said. "she didn't go swimming, she didn't go go-karting (yes, there was a go-kart track too.) she didn't go in tree skydiving, jello jumping (we made up that game) or star gazing with her three best friends."

we had a laugh about that.

"and," continued Rosalyn, "she didn't get to go to her own mini-mall, race on the escalators, or go mattress surfing."

we laughed some more, then we just sat there in companionable silence. we didn't talk, we didn't need to. It was a great feeling.

I thought about my day, the fight, detention, Miranda, and the tree palace. what had started off as a dismal day had transformed into one of the best days I had ever had. 

my thoughts strayed, and I caught myself thinking about Basil, how his golden brown hair stuck up just so in the back, and how it shimmered gold in the sun...

"stop." I said. then I clamped my hand over my mouth because I had said it out loud on accident. But by then, everyone had fallen asleep, so I didn't have to worry. 

I gazed up at the stars, they were so clear, there wasn't a place in the human world where you could see the stars so well, all of the pollution got in the way. 

I saw a streak of light, a shooting star, appear for a moment then disappear as quickly as it had come. 

"make a wish." I whispered to myself, but as I looked at my friends, I realized that I didn't need to. right in that very moment, my life was absolutely perfect. The people I cared about the most were all here with me, and for once in my life, I wasn't thinking about evelyn. 

I should've known it was too good to last.